This was unexpected, but kind of amazing. Iowa joins Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Jersey in becoming the third U.S. state to confer full marriage rights to gay couples:

Richard Socarides, a former senior adviser to President Bill Clinton on gay civil rights, said today’s decision could set the stage for other states. “I think it’s significant because Iowa is considered a Midwest state in the mainstream of American thought,” Socarides said. “Unlike states on the coasts, there’s nothing more American than Iowa. As they say during the presidential caucuses, ‘As Iowa goes, so goes the nation.’”